Human remains discovered in Santa Ana backyard

SANTA ANA - Human remains were discovered Sunday in the backyard of a Santa Ana home that was being renovated by the current owners, a police spokesman said.

A human skull and a number of other bones were found in the backyard of a house at 2541 North Hesperian early Sunday afternoon, Santa Ana police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

"The new owners were working in their backyard with a small tractor when they uncovered the bones," Bertagna told City News Service.

"Our detectives responded to the scene and confirmed that the bones were human," he said. "The family was evacuated from the house, which is now a crime scene, and the investigation began."

Bertagna said he didn't know yet whether the bones were of a man or a woman.

"That will have to wait until our police anthropologists come to the scene tomorrow (Monday) and remove all the bones from the backyard and then take them back for examination," he said.

The house where the remains were found burned down in 2006 and was rebuilt, Bertagna said.

"Neighbors of the previous owner negotiated a deal with the previous owner to buy the house and they moved in about a year ago," Bertagna said. "They were starting a renovation project in the backyard when the bones were discovered."

Bertagna said there is no suspicion that the new owners had anything to do with the human remains found today.

"We have located the previous owner and he is currently at the Santa Ana police station being interviewed by our detectives," he said.

There is no indication at this point who is buried there, how the person got there or who may be involved, Bertagna said. "Our detectives are looking at the 2006 fire, the previous owner, any missing persons reports from the area and checking to see if there were any reports of trouble at that location," Bertagna said.